Breastfeeding and contraception use among women with unplanned pregnancies less than 2 years after delivery

Objective: To examine breastfeeding and contraceptive use after the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM) criteria were no longer met. Methods: Two hundred and thirty-three parous Egyptian women with unplanned pregnancies less than 2 years after delivery completed a questionnaire examining breastfeeding practice and contraceptive use. Results: The majority of women (81.5%) with unplanned pregnancies within 2 years of delivery were breastfeeding at conception. Of these women, 36.3% had used a method of contraception other than LAM compared with 60.5% of women who had weaned (P<0.05). Among the breastfeeding women, 61.2% failed to use contraception because they believed breastfeeding would prevent pregnancy. Conclusion: Breastfeeding women with unplanned pregnancies were less likely to have used contraception than women who had weaned, suggesting that prolonged breastfeeding contributes to unmet contraceptive need. (C) 2009 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.